SHIPPING a 20-yard thunderbolt? Unfortunate. Labouring in attack? Frustrating. Finding that last-minute leveller when all seemed lost? Priceless.

Poole Town’s FA Cup dream lives on – just – thanks to their unerring ability to hang tough when things don’t go to plan.

Several programmes were thwacked against the press desk when Marvin Brooks scrambled home Dolphins’ lifeline and the overriding sentiment was clear – that Bath had blown their big chance.

There could be little argument that Tom Killick’s troops had ably gone toe-to-toe with their Conference South counterparts but after City’s Ashley Kington almost burst the net with a delicious 20-yard half volley, Poole looked unlikely to match that moment of quality in a tight, scrappy encounter.

Before the breakthrough, the visitors had done a good job of shackling their direct but purposeful opponents with Bath’s burly frontman Nick McCootie and partner-in-crime Dave Pratt restricted to half chances during the opening 45 minutes.

Visiting full-back Lewis Tallack endured a tough afternoon against the lively Andy Watkins but stuck at his task despite a first-half booking.

The only frustration at half-time was that Poole had not made the most of their resolute showing. Dangerous runs on the break went unrewarded as snatched passes in the final third saw possession frequently squandered.

Indeed it was the visitors who spurned the best chance of the half when Cherries loanee Josh O’Hanlon drifted away from his marker at the back post only to bounce his downward header from Mike Gosney’s inviting corner wide of the upright.

It was symptomatic of a half where Poole lacked the precision to produce the goods from promising positions.

Bath saw more of the ball and applied pressure without regularly testing Nick Hutchings.

McCootie went alone but fired wide, while there was a worrying moment when Keith Emmerson’s clearance fizzed dangerously cross his own goal.

A hesitant moment from Hutchings almost gift-wrapped a prodded opener for the persistent McCootie but the stopper recovered to bravely thwart the hosts and ensure a stalemate at the interval.

Edgy and well matched, both teams were walking a tightrope but it was Poole who wobbled within four minutes of the restart moments after creating a promising position of their own.

Carl Pettefer pinged a beautiful driven ball out to the effervescent Luke Burbidge to cut back for Brooks but the midfielder’s low drive cannoned back off Pat Keary, all within 30 seconds of the restart.

The frustration of that close call was swiftly doubled as Bath took the lead. Watkins powered past Tallack and swung in a hanging centre which Michael Walker did well to nod away but with no one picking up Kington’s run, City’s set-piece specialist was left free to thump home from just outside the area.

Poole kept plugging away and home keeper Jason Mellor was a mere spectator as skipper Jamie Whisken nudged a near-post effort against the base of the post after a quickly-taken short corner was fired in from the left.

It was almost game over when a rash moment saw Hutchings needlessly race out of his penalty area and get beaten to the chase by Pratt, but recovering defenders did enough to put off Bath’s top scorer whose lofted finish drifted off target.

With incisive play at a premium, the visitors’ most likely route to salvation was through sheer pressure but boss Killick’s bold decision to throw on rookie forward Dan Munday and go three at the back almost backfired.

Poole continued to lack cohesion in their play while Bath threatened to exploit the extra space down the flanks. McCootie continued to cause problems and cut back for Pratt to head wide 20 minutes from time.

It was no coincidence that Dolphins were able to exert more pressure once the tiring McCootie was replaced with 18 minutes to play.

His replacement, midfielder Kyle Patten, presented Chas Hemmings with an opportunity you would have backed McCootie to have put away but it was all about Poole from there as Bath dropped deep and manned the barricades.

By the final few minutes, City had packed their penalty area with all 11 men and with no out ball, Poole kept throwing ammunition into the danger zone after every clearance.

It finally paid off when Mellor, unconvincing throughout the final flurry, failed to clear an inswinging ball to the back post and when O’Hanlon’s close-range effort bobbled back off the face of the bar, Brooks steamed in to force the ball through the ruck of players on the line.

It was nowhere near the polished performance Killick had hoped for and without doubt, Poole will need to show more in the replay but most FA Cup adventures feature a moment of fortune.

Dolphins might have helped themselves to a huge dollop of luck but no one at Twerton Park could argue that it hadn’t been earned.

STAR MAN – JAMIE WHISKEN

A close call between the former Cherries youngster and his defensive colleague Michael Walker who stood up manfully to the physical challenge presented by Bath strikers Nick McCootie and Dave Pratt.

Whisken gave a calm, controlled performance at the back and posed a threat at set pieces for Poole.

Having quietly gone about his business in the shadow of Will Spetch last season, Whisken has forged a formidable partnership with Walker and neither looked out of place against Conference South opponents.

Luke Burbidge was the pick of Poole’s attacking options on an afternoon where things didn’t quite click in the final third.

MATCH FACTS

Bath: Mellor, Simpson, Ball, Gallinagh, Keary, Kington, Watkins, Adelsbury, Pratt, McCootie (Patten, 72), Hemmings (Stearn, 81).

Unused subs: Rollo, Bowman.

Booked: Ball.

Dolphins: Hutchings 6.5, Tallack 6 (Munday, 67), Emmerson 7, Walker 7.5, Whisken 7.5, Pettefer 6.5 (Lindsay, 86), Burbidge 7.5, Jermyn 6.5 (Preston, 62), O’Hanlon 6, Gosney 7, Brooks 7.

Unused subs: Martin, Davis, Lowes, Manley (g/k).

Booked: Tallack, Pettefer.

Referee: Derek Eaton (Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire).

Attendance: 547.